Cell Phones ~ Its Been a While!

Hey all,

Its been quite sometime since my last post and realizing that, lets get on with another topic!

I have been doing quite a bit of arbitrage work with cell phones lately. The most popular in my late trades is: The Blackberry Curve!!!

I have made several arbitrage moves with this phone and have become quite familiar with it. The average price on eBay for the phone ranges around $200-250 when listed properly. However, many people confuse the accurate category of "Cellphones and Smart Phones" where you will get around $250 for it if you list it properly, with "PDAS and Pocket PCS"!

Here is where the arbitrage comes in!

You can get a Curve (I tend to just deal in T-Mobile) in this category for anywhere from $150 on a really good day to $200 max on a bad day. Avg Price around $180. Seeing this gap, one naturally thinks "arbitrage"!

Great thought, works well, especially when you get a great deal on a MINT Phone. However, there are drawbacks.

One, you have to find a great condition phone that people have not already jumped on. This is not easy and can take a few days at best.

Two, eBay eats your fees~! I arbed a curve, buying at $180-190 and selling at $242 - ebay ate nearly $30 of my $60 profit!

Thats 1/2~!!!!!

But other than that, I have had great success with online to offline trades, which is where my business seems to be heading. I tend to gravitate away from selling for others and more towards buying for others. This is much easier than going through the motions of picture taking etc. and I feel it takes advantage of the bidding experience I've gained on eBay through time, enabling me to secure items for less than average prices!!!!

So, cell phones can be a hot market, depending on how you approach!!!!


Lots of Light,

Teddy

How to Handle a Rocky Transaction~!

Hey,

Its been a while, but for that while, I haven't really focused on giving knowledge, but rather gaining it. And one such experience that I feel every seller addresses at some point or another, is a rocky transaction.

Shit Happens.


Well, let me tell you what happened, and how I handled it..... with Pictures~!!!

So,





I sold a set of Harley Heads:




and as you can see, these heads were in mint condition when they left my door in This Factory Box, that my Client Gave them to me in.





Yet, when they arrived at my Buyer's Door, heres what had happened along the way.


Now, that you have the general idea of what happened. Here are the specifics.

So with heavy items, I prefer to determine a fair shipping price for my buyers, which is based on the location that the items are traveling to. Therefore, I don't post a shipping price, but rather, once I have a zip code, I issue an invoice with the amount for shipping.

This buyer, in particular, sends payment, before I issue an invoice, based on his 'expertise' in the specific field of Harley Heads, and expects me to just take it and make packing job work around his payment. This is not how I operate, and poses an issue off the bat. There are many people like this, that read my clause "Shipping to be determined at the close of the auction based on the buyers location and preferred shipping methods" and take it as an aggressive statement, as if I were trying to gouge them on shipping costs.

I do charge a small handling fee, but I assure you, that bamboozling is not the case.
I have no intention to swindle people out of money. The reason I charge handling fees is to cover any unexpected surprises in the way of shipping costs or supplies. The fee is nominal and maxes out at $5 for some way outlandish item that takes a lot of work to pack and a lot of work to ship.

So, now I have a buyer that has paid prematurely, and an amount that doesn't even cover parcel post at the post office. He also wrote a little paypal note with the payment stating that these were extremely fragile pieces of equipment and need to be handled and packed with extreme care, specifying that they needed to be packed in the factory box or in two separate boxes, one for each head.

First off..... paypal transaction notes are easily overlooked, its best if a buyer needs to tell you something, to 1. Send a message prior to the auctions close, and 2. A the very least use ebay's messaging system, or at best an e-mail, paypal notes shouldn't be an option, because we as sellers really don't read them, we look to see payment has been made. Paypal is a financial system to us, not a messaging system.

So as crazy as this ordeal had been up to this point, I told the guy he needed to send me an extra $4 to meet parcel post at cost. He did so and I packed the buggers into the factory box, and figured, since this guy was attempting to undercut shipping by nipping it in the bud, there was no way, I could pack these things into a bigger box, with more materials, let alone 2 boxes and still make the price that he paid for the item to be shipped.

I am not going to lie, I had a feeling about this box, that these things were way to heavy for the box and of all the huge boxes that left with me for the Post Office that day, I was the most skeptical about that. However, the only thing that kept me from repackaging, although I contemplated the idea every time I looked at the box, was the shipping cost/price issue.

So I Insured them, of course, and then they were on their way. Again, to make this one even better, I went to this one guy at the post office, that always sends everything priority, and they ended up going priority for $50.... so after that I was already in the hole $16.... Upon telling the guy, he refused to pay the additional $16 that I had incurred out of pocket... then went on an angry tangent, when I was like wtf.

Then they arrived damaged, and well heres were the fun began~! Haha, this is really funny to write right now~!

So this guy was like, I will buy these broken heads off you for $25 a head plus the shipping. And he wanted a refund for the rest, something like $60. But the catch was, his shipping was still $34 despite the $50 I paid, so he was offering me something like $84, rather than the $100 it should have been, which I gladly would have taken.

Then I was like, whatever, let me just refund this guy his money and call it a day. Yet, for some reason, rather than doing that, I contacted eBay and they told me I had not misrepresented the item and I was in the clear. So I decided to dispute it.

Big Mistake. Fighting, was not necessary. If I had just refunded payment, I would have saved myself a lot of stress and the process of paypal claims. Once the claim was through, I had to refund the money anyway.

I sell all my items as is. However, this does not apply to shipping issues. The thing I really learned from this experience is:

Always pack your stuff properly. If you have a feeling about a specific package, REPACK IT~! It is well worth it.

Also, I learned that fighting someone over shipping damage, isn't worth it. Refund it. Move on.

You might as why an Insurance Claim wasn't filed..... well thats a good question, the buyer stated that postal insurance wasn't claimable based on the way it was packed. So well, I have the option to claim it, but other than standing behind the fact that it was packed in the factory box, I really have no ground.

So, again.... Rocky Transactions Happen..... the best we can do, is learn from the transaction how to be a better eBay Seller. How to better pack our merchandise, and best of all.... when its actually worth it, to file a paypal or eBay Claim.....


Until the NExt Post..... WAHOO~!

Suggestions Please~!

Hey,

I realize that I am falling behind a bit in my blog posting and there is a wealth of information and knowledge I encounter in selling on eBay. So please feel free to drop me a suggestion on which I should make a blog post.

I am more than happy to answer any question I have experience with, that way I feel like its a bit more balanced, and I can really address what you all really want to learn~!

Light~!!

Teddy

Disciplined Investing~!

Aloha~!


Today I just wanted to touch briefly upon something that not many people seem to talk about when discussing businesses and how to manage your profits in a most effective way~!

The reason I feel that most people don't talk about it, is because there is no set way that anyone follows. I recently was introduced to this concept after realizing that I had not been keeping up with my spending and had spent much more than I had anticipated. It can all add up quick~!!

So what I realized, is that I needed a schedule that I could follow that would allow me to have a salary, savings and money to reinvest in the company. What I came up with was just that. Heres the way I allocated those 3 things:

Salary - 25%
Savings - 25%
Cash For Potential Investments - 50%

My reasoning behind this schedule is that, I need cash to live, at least currently I do. I also want to have funds readily available to do things like buy in bulk or buy things from people on the spot in cash, to make larger margins. After reading "Beyond IBM" I realized that Ready Cash is what can make or break a business. So I decided to make sure I have ready, cash for investment, like a surfboard for the waves of opportunity that life is continually sending my way~!

This way I feel I have the majority of my income devoted to that purpose. With Salary for necessary spending, and Savings for things like vacation and such.

I also realize that it helps so much to stay on top of and keep records of your spending and where you currently stand within your budget~! I use excel and it calculated everything for me, it just took a bit of setup. However, now that I have the templates developed, I can use them month to month, just plugging in values as I spend or generate income. Paypal and Chase both have my records of income and expenses available online so its all can be done in about 5-15 per day, and that time just makes my world that much easier, because I am aware of where I am, and that way I am more inclined to spend responsibly~!

I Pray my experience may serve anyone looking for a similar Setup~!

Personal Discipline goes a long way~!

Light and Peace,

Teddy


PS. The Idea for me at least is not to deprive myself of anything I would like to enjoy / experience, its just to be aware of where I stand and through that awareness, I am more likely to take responsible, balanced action in each and every moment~!

The Beauty of Automation~!

One of the greatest things about this industry is the ability to automate income. The challenge is to work it to the point where it can be automated. Sure one can just start up a business by sinking tons of funds into an idea and work out of that debt and break the barrier into generating profits.

However, since this business requires such little overhead (Basically a camera & computer, Bank Account and Internet Service), you really don't need to purchase an expensive franchise and spend a large chunk of revenue on a costly storefront. Many do, and I am sure they will shower you with success stories, but the bottom line is ~ This is a business anyone can do, and if the volume gets to be such that you need alternative spaces in which to work, than the business is usually more than capable of handling that expense.

Personally, I believe in growing a business organically, or via organic growth, I also hold the same standard to my produce, but well, that’s another story~ Haha~!

What organic growth is the ability of a business to grow without external funding. For example, the kid that starts selling lemonade on the side of the road generates enough capital to buy a stand, and expand, etc. Before you know it there could be lemonade stands on every major street on hot days in the summer, that are all run by that one kid who started that first stand with something he already found in his kitchen cabinet.

All business ultimately shoots for organic growth, yet, most of them believe, and for many it is indeed true, that they need money to make money. That’s one obstacle that these people are not able to transcend. However, the key to transcending that barrier is innovation and creativity.

The nature of this business is such that, well, you don't need much more than you already have to start generating serious revenues~!

So where does automation come in, Automation steps in when your business grows large enough organically, that you alone cannot handle the volume coming in, and also when you outgrow the shell that is the space in which you began. So basically at that point the time comes for the business to shift from a personal side job, to an official business, and that is probably the best time to file for incorporation, LLC, what have you. Because once your legit, you can pay your employees legitimately and ultimately set up to become an official business.

So where does the automation begin ~ well, once you are able to hire one person to help you, you put a bit more of your time into making sure this person learns the ropes, making sure all the listings being produced under your name are legit, effective and created in a timely fashion. So its great to have clients that are nice enough to give you time leeway, so as to say hey, just pay me when you finish. What’s even more amazing, is when you can produce lightning turn around results, aka, paying those people once you know all your buyers have received their items. Here is where synergy kicks in and 2 + 2 can really = somewhere between 5 and 8, depending on how well you mesh with your employee. And when your turn around is lightning fast, that’s when the word gets out that you are the go to person, and the clients start lining up for your services, but be prepared for that, because when it happens business increases exponentially and you need to expand at a proportional rate in order to keep up.

Now you can really now begin to start thinking about the automation factor, because automation is quite easy and really effective. Once you automate your first Trading Site the revenue and the amount of clientele will most likely give you the incentive to create another~! From here on out, it just gets fun~!

Because you get to drop the operator from your title - if you choose to - and basically make your primary concern opening other divisions and investing the profits you are generating. Quite easy to say, but making that transition can be challenging, but if your on top of your game you can flow right into it~!

Then to close it out, you can appoint someone to develop new locations and stay on them like you did with your first few employees and begin to just do your thing, whatever that may be, whether its traveling, helping the world, helping other people develop their businesses, whatever is your fancy, but in order to do this without going nuts over your business you will need to automate and build a team that is second to none. The key to a great team, is finding people that just naturally meld and create a work force to rival even the most successful businesses, and the key is to work with them to help them achieve their goals through what they are doing and not just milk them for their labor. Because if you genuinely want to help someone out, and take steps in that direction, such gestures are generally happily reciprocated~!

If you work well, you can automate it to the point where either you take an hour or two on Monday mornings to have a look at the numbers~!


So with that, I bid you all adieu~!

Have a Wonderful Weekend~!

Light and Peace,

Teddy

Financial Management~!

This Post is all about how to manage the finances of your eBay Business~!

For it needs to managed some way or another, unless you want some issues. So first off, key here is to separate your personal from your business finances. Although it may be self explanatory, many people in the beginning don't do this, which leads to issues with clients and your own spending, really fast.

The Easiest way to go about this if you are registered as a business owner, is to open a business checking account, many banks offer them free for a year~! Then link your paypal accounts to that business account. It is also key to have separate paypal accounts..... although some of you may be thinking why..... the answer is simple.... you also buy stuff, you aren't just selling and when you have something that is directly linked to your clients money, and you are buying stuff with that account, one needs to be extremely conscious of every transaction they conduct as to keep everything in check. So in short, the two separate paypal accounts just makes it that much easier~! Feel free even to open up multiple paypal accounts~!

Third.... Excel, Excel, Excel~!

Personally, I keep a master spreadsheet of everything I sell for other people, what it sold for, my commission, the paypal and ebay fees, the shipping charges and the net gains or losses based on shipping charged and actual shipping paid. (I always do my best to keep the net on shipping in the green, because that will tend to cover small things that may come up like packing materials and such....

While we are on shipping, handling charges are key~! Getting greedy is easy but its also a fast way to put your name and feedback down, and make a quick $2 rather than increasing sales and commissions in the long run. So around $2-5 handling fees are ok, depending on what the item is and how big it is, and also sometimes you just way overestimate shipping and end up with something like $10, and hey it happens, its just doing that stuff on purpose that will torpedo your business.... also eBay has this new thing where they tell you that your shipping charges are way over what everyone's elses are.... so thats another reason.

The best way I find to do it with things are are questionable in terms of what its going to cost to ship them, is just say in the auction that the charges will be determined at the close of the auction based on the buyers location and preferred shipping methods..... and in doing that your covered and you can actually get a quote before you charge them, tack on a fair handling fee and everyone is happy. I know as a buyer myself if I see like a $2 handling fee, I am like ok w/e, but if I see like a $5-15 fee, I am kinda like wtf.

So back to excel~! Haha. In keeping that master list, I always can easily just pull out a specific clients data, I tend to keep each client in a partition, and then I have the ability to make their receipt, calculate my commission, how much I they are contributing to my eBay Bill.... etc.

The key is not to over spread sheet, but make the ones you do use, smart and useful.... also excel will do a lot of the calculations for you if you simply do the first two highlight them and drag the mouse down as far as you want to be calculated based on that rate~!

Thats just a quick excerpt from my book... feel free to comment and leave any suggestions~!


Have a Wonderful Day~!

Peace,

Teddy

Scheduling Posts~!

Hey,

So I just want to mention a really cool feature of auctiva which is making scheduling your posts~!

Not only does auctiva let you create your auctions via their templates and host your pictures for you.... they also allow you to schedule your posts to post when you want them to~!

I think this is really cool.... there are certain times when the eBay Buyer Market is at its peak.... i.e. when work gets out.... so you don't have to be online posting in order to have your listings end at these times~! Theoretically you can be up at 2 am writing all the posts for prime time eBayers~!

I just wanted to put that out there because I think its amazing~! I also am about to test drive this software for mac called GarageSale, which is designed specifically to make eBay auctions~!

I have heard great things and I will definately keep you in the Loop~!

Light and Joy~!

Teddicus